Sunday, May 25, 2008

Every once in a while, life presents you with a series of days that renew your faith in fun. It shows you the ease of friendship and surprises you with the strength of your feelings for people. This was one of those weekends. See, lately I have been in a funk. I know the exact nature and cause of said funk and won't bore you with the details. I just know it will pass soon enough but it makes my legs dead and my motivation nonexistent. But in the meantime, I got a diversion from myself in the form of visitors.

I was planning on heading down to Salt Lake to meet my friend Cole who was flying in from Ohio. The weather was crap here and in Salt Lake so Cole decided to drive up to Jackson instead with another friend. Seeing I live in the Brady bunch house, they were both staying with me. I was beyond excited, one to have guests and two, they were boys. Hey, a girl can dream. And honestly, I am just lazy so people coming to me was so much more appealing.

I am Cole's pacer and crew for Wasatch, a job I am taking way too seriously and one which I begged to have. Currently, I am negotiating my duties with him and am hoping for complete artistic freedom to assist him in getting it done in under 30 hours. There's a lot of convincing on my part and head shaking (back and forth, not up and down) on his but thankfully, he's one of the most easy going people I know so I think I will get my way. I will study maps and elevations, learn his middle name so I can scold him like his mother would in the middle of the night. I will dispense meds, lies, encouragement and without physicially assisting him, drag his ass through the mountains if need be. The only fear being he has to drag my sorry ass instead but I will train for my pacer duties hard.

All weekend, the rain was relentless but it didn't seem to deter our fun. There was a wine tasting complete with Jackson's best decked out in bedazzled cowboy hats and sequined jeans, late nite sushi, new friends, girly drinks drank by men and cookie candles that smelled faintly of urine. Life always hopes for good stories (all true), good food and sometimes too much alcohol and it delivered. We did runs, there were climbs in the mountains and every season was experienced. My soul was fed with late night talks on wine loosened tongues. The truth comes out when the sun goes down. Anyone who has run through the night with another knows that.

So after a hearty 2nd night of 4 hours sleep, they left early Sunday morning to drive back to Salt Lake. I was left with a too quiet house and beds showing the indentations of bodies and heads of hard sleep. Often times, I find it easier to hang out with guys. There is less emotion and thought involved in the basic art of hanging out. I can say the wrong thing and get away with it easier. While I have grown in my appreciation for time spent with my gender, its fun to be one of the boys when they let you. You feel cool.

On another note, the wedding is coming up. I am feeling my sermon juices flowing again and hoping to channel one of those Southern preachers that shout Hallejah and have their perishners swaying with their heads down, eyes closed, palms facing up. But it might be a bit more serene than that.

I have changed around my race schedule too. I was talking to a friend last nite and she was mentioning Leadville, a race we were going to do together. For some reason, I have not signed up even though the entry form is sitting on my desk at work and I look at it every day. Sometimes my inaction speaks louder to me than what I actually do and what it's telling me is that I don't think I want to do it. It's too much travel, cash and nites in the back of my truck. Once I thought that out loud, it made me happy so there you go. It also frees up two races that I have wanted to do - El Vacquero Loco, a really cool low keyed ultra just down the road from me put on by Ty Draney and Speedgoat 50k in Utah. My only bitch on Speedgoat is the claim that it's the toughest 50k in the US. That's a steep claim but 10,000 feet of climbing is a good amount, there are other races with more. I just think that superlatives are being thrown around too freely these days.

About Me

I am 40 years old and live in Jackson, Wyoming. Moved here 1991 and started running in 2000, mostly so I could eat more. I am grateful to live in a place where I can walk everywhere and the trails are right outside my door.